He informed us, in broken English,
that he had not long arrived with the Governor of Bangkok, who was
proceeding for the rest of the way to Pekin by land. Our fears were
gradually dispelled, and we even accepted the friendly invitation of
the captain to run alongside his ship and view it, on our return.
He came in the boat with us, and took us on board, where he showed
us everything himself: the sight, however, was not a particularly
attractive one. The crew looked very rough and wild; they were all
dressed in a most slovenly and dirty manner, so that it was utterly
impossible to distinguish the officers from the common men. The
vessel mounted twelve guns and sixty-eight hands.
The captain set before us Portuguese wine and English beer, and the
evening was far advanced before we reached home.
The longest trip that can be made from Canton is one twenty miles up
the Pearl stream, and Mr. Agassiz was kind enough to procure me this
pleasure. He hired a good boat, which he furnished abundantly with
eatables and drinkables, and invited a missionary, who had made the
trip several times, Herr von Carlowitz, and myself. The company of
a missionary is as yet by far the safest escort in China. These
gentlemen speak the language; they become gradually acquainted with
the people, and travel about, with hardly any obstacle to speak of,
all round the vicinity of Canton.
About a week before we had decided on going, a few young gentlemen
had endeavoured to make the same excursion, but had been fired upon
from one of the fortresses that lie on the banks of the river, and
compelled to turn back half-way. When we approached the fortress in
question, the crew of our boat refused to proceed any further, until
we had almost employed violence to make them do so. We also were
fired into, but fortunately not until we were more than half past
the fortress. Having escaped the danger, we pursued our course
without further interruption, landed at several hamlets, visited the
so-called Herren Pagoda, and took a good view of everything that was
to be seen. The scenery all round was charming, and displayed to
our view large plains with rice, sugar, and tea-plantations,
picturesque clumps of trees, lovely hills, and more elevated
mountain ranges rising in the distance. On the declivities of the
hills, we beheld a number of graves, which were marked by single,
upright stones.
The Herren Pagoda has three stories, with a pointed roof, and is
distinguished for its external sculpture. It has no balconies
outside, but, instead of this, a triple wreath of leaves round each
story. In the first and second story, to which access is gained by
more than usually narrow stairs, are some small altars with carved
idols. We were not allowed to go into the third story, under the
excuse that there was nothing to be seen there.
The villages we visited, resembled more or less, that we had seen
near the Half-way Pagoda.
During this journey I was an eye-witness of the manner in which the
missionaries dispose of their religious tracts. The missionary who
had been kind enough to accompany us, took this opportunity of
distributing among the natives some seeds that should bring forth
good fruit. He had 500 tracts on board our boat, and every time
that another boat approached us, a circumstance that was of frequent
occurrence, he stretched himself as far as possible over the side
with half a dozen tracts in his hand, and made signs to the people
to approach and take them. If people did not obey his summons, we
rowed up to them, and the missionary gratified them with his tracts
in dozens, and went his way rejoicing, in anticipation of the good
which he did not doubt they would effect.
Whenever we arrived at a village, however, matters reached even a
higher pitch. The servant was obliged to carry whole packs of
tracts, which in a moment were distributed among the crowd of
curious who had quickly gathered round us.
Every one took what was offered to him, as it cost nothing, and if
he could not read it - the tracts were in Chinese - he had at least
got so much paper. The missionary returned home delighted; he had
disposed of his 500 copies. What glorious news for the Missionary
Society, and what a brilliant article for his religious paper, he no
doubt transmitted to Europe!
Six young Englishmen made this same excursion up the Pearl stream
six months later, stopping at one of the villages and mixing with
the people. Unhappily, however, they all fell victims to the
fanaticism of the Chinese: they were most barbarously murdered.
There was now no trip of any distance left but one round the walls
of the town of Canton, {108} properly so called. This, too, I was
shortly enabled to undertake through the kindness of our good friend
the missionary, who offered to come as guide to Herr von Carlowitz
and myself, under the condition, however, that I should put on male
attire. No woman had ever yet ventured to make this trip, and he
thought that I ought not to venture in my own dress; I complied with
his wish, therefore, and one fine morning early we set out.
For some distance our road lay through narrow streets or alleys
paved with large flags. In a small niche somewhere in the front of
every house, we saw little altars from one to three feet high,
before which, as it was yet early, the night lamps were still
burning. An immense quantity of oil is unnecessarily consumed in
keeping up this religious custom.
